Remembrance
by GmanKings
Summary: Tim and Cassie cope with Wally's death because if they've learnt anything it's that life's too short. *Wonderbird one shot*


**Remembrance**

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**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. If I did there'd be a season 3.

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**Watchtower: 23****rd**** June 2015 11:00**

Life is too short. If anything had become clear over the last few days it's that fact of life. Wallace 'Wally' Rudolph West the first Kid Flash had died, sacrificed himself to save the planet from total annihilation. Life was too short. Too short not act on your feelings, to not get the chance to say 'I love you'.

Wally's death had taken its toll on everyone on the team. He was one of the founders, loved and cherished by all. Tim could still retain the sobs of sorrow and anguish from the fateful day that had cost them all dearly. Just thinking about it caused his own eyes to swell with tears that he had fought to control.

This time it was real. They wouldn't get a second chance. This wasn't part of some shrewd scheme to infiltrate the Light. The Light was gone. Somewhere in the galaxy the most devious minds on earth had access to their own Death Star. They could destroy entire planets, ending billions of innocent lives all in fatal swoop. All for their sick power play with the Justice League, a conflict no one tried to understand because the Light would still be evil and the League would still uphold the true values of Justice.

The Watchtower had never seemed so empty. The Team, the league, the few members left from the Justice society and then there were the rest of the West clan, all there to commemorate a son, a boyfriend, a brother, a nephew, a cousin, a fallen hero.

The mood was somber costumes didn't feel appropriate, but then some still had their identities to protect. There were civilians aboard the Watchtower, actual civilians. They deserved to remember Wally in peace, something they wouldn't get from a conventional service.

Tim, no Robin, wore a simple black band over crimson Kevlar. It wasn't enough. It didn't feel right. A comforting hand is placed on his shoulder and it takes all Tim's will not lean into the touch. He turns to face Batman, his mentor.

He was startled to discover the man wasn't scowling. Instead a rueful smile graced his lips. Tim knew Bruce didn't take death well, none of them did, but Bruce would stay strong for his family. His sons, a girl he sees as a daughter, brothers and sisters. Bruce was a rock, sturdy, strong, he had to be. He wouldn't let people think any differently but he cared, about all his surrogate family.

The service itself was short, what Wally would have wanted. He was no longer the egotistical teenage boy searching for glory. He was a hero and heroes never die, only remembered. That what Tim tells himself as he walks away from the congregation of people gathered to remember Wally.

His black domino mask feels uncomfortable, the white lenses fog, and Tim won't let anyone see him cry. He's Robin the boy wonder, he should be stronger than this. He shouldn't let his emotions get the better of him. He really wants to feel his brothers comforting embrace but Dick looks so broken, blaming himself.

It wasn't his fault, Wally knew the risks. As Artemis say's 'there's always a world to save' and now that seems more true than ever because the world will always need saving. Whether it's from tyrannical world conquering, then destroying, aliens or delusional super villain's the world would still need saving.

"Robin?" Great this is just what Tim needs, because he can't ever be Tim it's always Robin or Rob or Boy wonder. At first Robin was a safety net, a different person entirely, but now Tim thinks he's more boy wonder than boy. The clear lines between the two are faded and soon there will only be one left. "Robin you okay?"

"Yes Cassie, I'm fine," _no_ he's not fine, he's far from fine, but he has to be. For the team, for Nightwing, for Cassie, his best friend, the California girl he's had a crush on from the first time he laid eyes on her. It would be cute if it down weren't so pathetic. He could face every psycho Gotham had to offer but couldn't tell a girl he liked her.

"You know it fine if you're fine Robin, no one expects you to be fine all the time," Tim wants to insist that he is fine, but he can't even turn to face her. The wet lines that trail down his checks are a big indication that he isn't 'fine,' and now they burn pink with embarrassment. He can't let her see him cry.

"Have you been crying?" She almost sounds shocked, almost, but then she wouldn't be. She was his best friend, she knew these things. He hadn't even motioned to wipe his eyes.

"Yes…," he doesn't lie, there's no point. She knows anyway. He half expects her to pull him into an embrace, she does. She knows he needs this, though he's too proud to ask. Wally's death had hit even the strongest of them. Kon, Dick, Kaldur they all blame themselves, they all say 'What if we got there sooner?' 'What if we stopped him?'

If they stopped him, they'd all be dead because Wally saved them all. He'd only just come out of retirement and they had already lost him. Tim knows Artemis won't go back into retirement, not after this. She will never stop feeling guilty for what she had put him through in the last few months, and she would never hear him say 'I forgive you.'

"It's okay Robin," Tim know Cassie is crying too, he finds it oddly comforting. Cassie is one of the strongest girls he knows both literally and figuratively. She shouldn't have to call him Robin, he knows her, he trusts her… and-

"It's Tim…," He's glad they're alone. He peels the domino mask off his face, because frankly tears and glue don't mix well and then stares at her. For the first time without a mask or stupid glasses, there blue eyes meet and Cassie smiles, a small delicate smile that makes Tim's heart race because now he's simply Tim.

The kiss surprises him, it was bold and strong and so very Cassie. He kisses her back, wrapping his slender arms around her muscular figure and for the first time in days he is fine, more than fine actually. But then life is too short…

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Thanks for reading please review!


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